The Fall Cloths

Fall Suits 1930's Apparel Arts

© Apparel Arts

With fall approaching, it is time again to look at the elegant gentleman from the 1930’s and their wardrone. Apparel Arts always observed very closely the fashion developments at the time and also made predictions about future trends. Of course, not everything in their forecast actually turned out to be popular, though since their predictions were based on current British dress habits, they were often spot on.

Fall is finally here

The temperature here in Houston has finally started to cool off consistently, making it the perfect time to start layering in blazers.
You don’t need a jacket or a coat yet, just something to throw over your shoulders to break the breeze. One of my go-tos this time of year is a plaid or windowpane sportcoat (or suit jacket, if the fabric is right).
Early Fall is also a great time to begin introducing some autumn-wrothy color palettes (think organic, earthy, rustic).

In-Town Brown Shoes

Let's forget all that ‘never brown in town’ nonesense. Do you wear a dark suit to work everyday (usually a three-piece), keep the jacket on throughout and always pair it with a sober tie? Then you’re breaking far more recent rules than the brown/town one – which was established when brown was a sure sign that a man was loping off to his country estate after work.
Modern business attire is far more flexible. Understand the spirit of archaic rules, rather than blindly following the letter.
Second, black shoes are an English thing. Yes they mean business everywhere, but other countries (Italy, US) accepted the benefits of brown leather years ago. You wear an Armani suit and a Ralph Lauren shirt. Why stick obstinately to an English tradition?
So, what to wear them with? Navy and mid-grey are my favourites. Avoid lighter blues and darker greys (charcoal). There is no particular rationale for this, but those tones benefit in particular from having a colour in the shoe they are worn with. Black is not a colour; it may serve to enrich the colour it is worn with, but it is not a colour itself.
Those are some basic cloth suggestions. The important thing to remember is that the same guidelines on shoes elsewhere also apply to brown – indeed if anything they are more important there.
One is that your shoes should always be darker than your suit trousers. If tan shoes are being worn more casually, there is some leeway there. But don’t wear tan shoes with a navy suit. Try a chocolate brown instead and you’ll realise what the Italians are going on about – why they embolden each other.
(I have seen several men in recent days actually wearing black suits with tan shoes. I only hope that has happened through a lack of thought. How someone could think those two would complement each other is beyond me.)
A second guideline to bear in mind is that brown shoes are still not as smart as black. Yes, they are accepted; but no, they are not a replacement. If you’re in doubt about what to wear to a meeting, wear black. If you’re in doubt what to wear with odd trousers, wear brown. Use your judgement and aesthetic nouse for everything in between.

My first British bespoke shirt by Simon Crompton of www.permanentstyle.co.uk/

My first British bespoke shirt

A few months ago I had my first British bespoke suit made. Time, I thought, to repeat the experience in shirts – so I toddled off to 23 Bury Street, home of Turnbull & Asser's bespoke service.

I've been a fan of Turnbull & Asser's shirts for a while, and wrote a while back about the vast improvement that has been made in the block for their ready-to-wear shirts. How many men with a 15-inch neck wanted that big a waist on their shirt I'll never know. The new line is much slimmer, and fits better than some made-to-measure I've had done.

Bespoke is made in almost exactly the same way as ready-to-wear, and all in the Gloucester factory. But the difference is the fit. I have to say being measured by master shirt maker David Gale was an eye-opener for me. The attention to detail in body and personal habits was greater than any other tailor I've had.

Take the width of the cuff, for example. Obviously this is dependent on the width of the man's wrist. It should be tight enough to that wrist such that the cuff stays at the base of the thumb and does not slip further down. That allows the shirtmaker to build in around an inch of excess material in the sleeve length, above the wrist, so that when a man's arm is extended the shirt goes with it.

However, some men wear large watches on their wrist, making it impossible to keep the cuff tight enough to prevent slipping down the hand. So instead, the cuff is made larger but there is no excess in the sleeve length. To still allow for movement of the arm, a slight excess is built into the back of the shirt, rather than the sleeve.

The same process would be used for a man that prefers to put in his cufflinks before he puts the shirt on. The cuff is made a little wider and the sleeve a little shorter, without that excess material. Equally for a man with particularly thick wrists in proportion to his hand.

I do wear large watches, but I also have slim wrists – so it balances out.

It also makes a difference what type of cuff link you wear. A silk knot keeps the cuff very tight; a bar is rather looser; and a chain is looser still – even if they are the same length, the looseness of the chain means it forms a bigger circle than a bar. This is as important as the thickness of your wrist.

My first commission was for a white dress shirt, in Sea Island Quality cotton. This is not actually from the West Indies, as Sea Island cotton originally was, but from the same plants transported to Egypt. I was told that the cotton you get today from the West Indies is monopolised and thus overpriced. In T&A's opinion, Sea Island Quality feels better anyway. I've felt true Sea Island cotton and it is heavier and silkier. Whether that is better is really a question of taste.

The first, draft shirt will be ready in three to four weeks. This will be made slightly on the conservative (wide) side in terms of fit. For example, the excess of cloth in chest, waist and hips can be as low as two inches each. Mine will be five-four-four, with the presumption that it will be taken in. Better too much than too little, as you can't make a shirt bigger. (Or not easily anyway. You can add side panels but it is a lengthy and costly process.)

The shirt will then be worn and washed two or three times, before being presented to David for a fitting. Then the adjusted paper pattern goes back to the factory to be made into a final shirt.

Watch out here for reports on both stages.

Waistcoat Rules

There is nothing wrong with a double-breasted waistcoat. A single breast is more conventional and normal, and a double is more formal – as it harks back to the waistcoats on full fig, or white tie, which were often double breasted.

As to the colour of the waistcoat, the normal and more conventional colour would be black. In the same material as the jacket, with the same grosgrain on the lapels (usually a shawl collar ending in squared-off ends). There is, however, a lot of flexibility here. The waistcoat could be collarless and it could be entirely in grosgrain. It could also be backless or not.

A white piqué waistcoat would be more formal and unusual. Nothing wrong with it, but generally white waistcoats were worn with white tie and black with black tie. But then, strictly speaking you could wear a white bow tie with black tie, as counter-intuitive as it seems. Personally, I would rather like a white waistcoat as it is not incorrect and is a little different.

However, the most important thing is the relationship between the waistcoat and shirt. The waistcoat is made to fit and suit a particular shirt, and this must be born in mind. So a white waistcoat, being very formal, must be worn with a stiff-fronted shirt and wing collar (also formal). Some may argue that the collar should be starched and detachable (very formal). With a black waistcoat you have a little more freedom – fold-down or wing collar is fine.

Also bear in mind the shape of the shirtfront – an oval front best suits a waistcoat with an oval neckline. And a straight up-and-down, pleated shirtfront usually suits a cummerbund best – both being less formal than the options just mentioned.

So the key is balancing the formality of your outfit. And match the waistcoat to the shirt, not to the jacket.

Alden Shoes – Alpine Wingtip Boot by AC (LSW & LSBH)

About a year ago we had an Alden design contest for a shoe and a boot. Our friend “AC” won the contest with this Alpine Wingtip Boot. After seeing it in the flesh we are quite happy with the voters’ choice!
Details of AC’s boot include the use of brown alpine grain leather, a commando sole, a reverse all around welt, and brass metal eyelets without speed hooks.
The perfect Fall boot in our opinion. Thank you to AC for the wonderful 
http://leathersoulhawaii.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/acb1.jpg

Gaziano and Dean Girling - Deco Shoes

Devils in Deco

Five years ago Tony Gaziano and Dean Girling were a breath of fresh air in British shoemaking. Now, with the startlingly elegant Deco line, they’re determined to do it all over again


Earlier this year Gaziano & Girling introduced a new range of shoes, which they’ve named Deco*. The name comes from their “Interpretation of 1920′s and 1930′s high society footwear.” What makes this range special is the additional hand making and bespoke quality materials that goes into every pair. These shoes are as close to bespoke as you can get because all of the Deco waists and soles are hand finished, and the uppers are hand lasted.
 

Cooper, Black Calf

Joyce, Black Buck Suede

Collcut, Black Deco Calf

Bates, Black Deco Calf

Borsalino Cap

Now that autumn is settling in we thought it a good time to proffer some new Borsalino caps. In the same way shoes compliment a wardrobe from the feet up a fine cap compliments it from the head down.

At the end of he day the it’s the attention to details that separate the men from the boys. That’s not to say it takes a great effort, donning a cap can be all it takes.

Founded in 1887 by Alessandro Giuseppe Borsalino the company has been at the forefront of Italian hat design and manufacturing for more than 100 years.